Assessment of effectiveness of specification on value for money in public sector:

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to assess the effectiveness of specification on value for money in public sector; a case of Arusha Urban Water Supply and Sanitation Authority .The study used Principal Agent Theory, the agent theory is related to this study in that, the Government (principal) and the private contractor (agent) can come into a mutual procurement contractual agreement during a procurement process and explaining the relationship between user departments (principal) and Procurement Management Unit (agent) with care taken on the value for money. The research design used is explanatory which allows a detailed description and analysis of the variables under study; describing and presenting their characteristics and explaining their relationships without manipulation. The sample of the target population composed of 197 respondents who were employees of AUWSA. The study used questionnaires and interviews as the primary research instrument. The data was coded as per the objectives to give distinct differences and multivariate regressions were done to look at the relationship of the variables. Presentation was done through their calculated mean, frequency, mode and the correlation analysis of the data collected. The study concluded that, procurement planning variables which include; specifications, procurement scheduling and procurement method have got a positive significant relationship with value for money in public entities in Tanzania. Given the high percentage of respondents who said procurement specifications, scheduling were the most important in affecting value for money in public organizations and the explanations provided on procurement planning, it is important to prioritize procurement specifications because they provide clarity to product providers on the desired results from the commodity and helps the supplier to identify what is to be procured and the scope likely demands on supplier and the range of goods/services required and avoid unnecessary cost of ambiguity specifications. Finally, the study recommends that, AUWSA Management should ensure employee empowerment on procurement process especially on how to prepare specification for various tenders. The empowerment of employee in preparation of specification will ensure specifications are prepared properly in such a way the value for money in procurement is enhanced though clear specification. Moreover, the empowerment of employee in preparation of specification will ensure detailed specifications are prepared properly and value for money in procurement will be enhanced through clear specifications as clear specifications is the benchmark for quality control process.